spacetime
nounUS /ˈspeɪsˌtaɪm/
Etymology From space + time, as a calque of German Raumzeit, introduced in this sense by Hermann Minkowski. First appears in print c. 1893 in the Philosophical Review.
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics The four-dimensional continuum of the three spatial dimensions plus time.
- An event is a point in spacetime, specified by the coordinates x, y, z, and t.
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics An n-dimensional continuum consisting of dimensions of both space and time. Normally spacetime is considered as having 4 dimensions (x, y, z, t), but higher-dimensional spacetimes are often encountered in theoretical physics, e.g. the 5-dimensional spacetime of Kaluza-Klein theory or the 11 dimensions of spacetime in M-theory.
- a Minkowski spacetime
- a 5-dimensional spacetime
A specific region of the universe with mathematically different properties than the surrounding spacetime. Synonymous with "metric" within the context of general relativity.
- a Schwarzschild spacetime
- a Reissner-Nordström spacetime
- Derived terms
- absolute space-time, cyberspacetime, prespacetime, spacetime metric, spacetime physics, spacetime singularity
- Related terms
- time-distance
- Coordinate terms
- temporospatial, spatiotemporal